Withstanding Hurricanes of Life

When life resembles a
hurricane, how do you
rely on the sovereign
Lord? Vicki shares.

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:14-18)/

Like others who have multiple sclerosis (MS), I have balance issues. Thankfully my problem is subtle, only made apparent to me during a visit with my neurologist. She had me walk heel-to-toe. I needed to hold onto her for balance.

It’s bad enough when we’re wobbly on the outside. But shaky on the inside can be more devastating. Most chronic illnesses don’t have a cure. That makes the future uncertain. We dread the possibility of facing our worst fears. How can we silence the ‘what ifs’?

Ezekiel warned of God’s judgment. Now that’s something to fear! So Ezekiel hasn’t been one of my favorite books of the Bible–until recently.

Two words popped out: ‘Sovereign Lord’. So I circled them. Then I spotted them again and circled them.

Oh, there they are again. And again. God surely wants me to know He reigns supreme in my life.

Starting in chapter 30, I circled them more times than I could count. After a while, a wonderful thing happened. The repetition of that phrase went from my pencil to my head –and then to my heart. Filling me with assurances that He’s the Supreme Power.

Theopedia, in its focus on the Sovereignty of God, reminds us, “all things are under God’s rule and control, and that nothing happens without His direction or permission.”

The worst situations that confront us are those we’re unable to handle or control. It’s comforting to know our Sovereign Lord has unlimited power and authority. And that a Great Ruler cares about each one of us and our loved ones.

Prayer: Dear Sovereign Lord, I believe You’ve got everything under control, even when they seem out of control from my perspective. Put a hedge of protection around my thoughts as a barrier against fears. Keep me from worrying about things I can’t control. Help me bring my concerns to You and leave them at Your throne. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

About the Author:
Vicki understands special needs as a patient, parent, and professor. She has had multiple sclerosis since 1993. Her 33 year old son was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She’s taught special education as a teacher, administrator, and adjunct professor. Through her blog, she reaches out to other mothers of children with mental illness. http://mentalillnessmom2mom.net/ . Vicki wrote a picture book about bullying: Heart Eyes: Beth and the Bullies. You can find out more about that book by visiting her Heart Eyes website: www.hearteyes.net

This is the group, Audio Andrenline singing, “Believer.” If you like the beach (or surfing!) you may love this video even more. But the real message is that we can ask God to help us go deeper–to walk beside Him even closer. If you are walking through “the valley of the shadows” right now, take heart. Many of us are there beside you, but best of all God is right there with you–and you are His full priority. Enjoy. -Lisa

23 Responses to Withstanding Hurricanes of Life

Vicki, such a great view and ficus on our ” Sovereign Lord”. It is so heart touching to know and hold onto the fact that He completely knows all that touches us and is there as a barrier. Not only a physical one but spiritual and mental. Thank you for this precious hope and joy you’ve encouraged us with today. Blessing to you. Di

Dear Di,
Yes, Di there is hope and joy in the fact that He knows all that touches us: “Not only a physical one but spiritual and mental.” Sometimes I think I struggle more with spiritual and mental challenges than the physical ones. But no matter the challenges, our God is greater still!
Grace and peace,
Vicki

Hi Fiona,
I can’t believe I hadn’t heard “Sovereign Over Us” … I LOVE Michael W Smith’s music. So I googled the song. As I listened to Michael Smith sing, the words comforted me as well. The lyrics flooded me with God’s peace as I reflected on His mighty power, perfect plans, and constant presence. One phrase stuck me: “teaching us to trust” I’m sure God has been using my MS to help me trust Him more.
Contemplating His sovereignty can truly “change one’s mindset.”
I’m grateful you made the connection to this message and “Sovereign Over Us” …I’m gonna get that CD!
Rest in His presence.
Vicki

Vicki,
Yes, I hope my challenges are teaching me to trust Him more too.
Glad I could point you in the direction of his CD Vicki – the whole CD is great, but I think that’s my favourite song on it. I got it out again to listen to after sharing that comment!

Thank you, Vicki, for this encouraging reminder of God’s faithful love and care. When we can believe in our hearts that He has control over everything in our lives, it makes such a difference in our mindset. Love the prayer, too. I also checked out your website. So hope-filled. At the end of every month, I post new links, etc. I plan to include yours for my “Hope Harbor” page.

Dear Trudy,
Thanks for stopping by my website. I checked out your blog…such an AMAZING oaisis full of TONS of resources for the hurting. I added it to the blog roll on my Mental Illness Mom 2 Mom blog (http://mentalillnessmom2mom.net/).
May God continue to bless your ministry!
Vicki

Thank you so much for your kind support and encouragement, Vicki. Only recently I felt in my heart that I need to believe my website is a “ministry” instead of always chalking it off as nothing useful. So you calling it a “ministry” confirms this to my heart and encourages me to believe that through Jesus I can make a positive difference in the lives of hurting souls. Insecurity is a mindset that is so hard to get rid of, but we need to keep replacing the lies with the truth, right?

I just shared this devotion with a friend of mine who has MS. I just felt I needed to answer the nudge in my heart to send it to her. May God bless your ministry as well.

Dear Trudy,
I’m glad you’re no longer “chalking your blog off as nothing useful” and that God has opened your eyes to the truth of your ministry: “that through Jesus you can make a positive difference in the lives of hurting souls.” Amen!
Thanks for sharing this devotional with a fellow MS patient.
Grace and peace,
Vicki

Thank you so much for these devotionals, I only been getting them in my email for about a week now, but already its made such a difference for me, especially from this one. Its so relaxing to realize I don’t have to worry because God’s got everything under control and Its all going to turn out all right.

Dear Maria,
Yes, “God’s got everything under control.”: easy to say, hard to fully believe without eyes clearly fixed on Him each day. I think it’s safe to say all your new friends here at RM are learning to keep our focus on Christ every day…minute by minute. Personally, I can’t imagine how I’d cope with MS without Him in my life. His provision, strength, and peace.
And yes, “It’s all going to turn out all right” which may be different than our “right” but right in accordance with His perfect plans for our lives.
Rest easy in His presence,
Vicki

I do not have MS but the balance issues are always with me due to my vestibular dysfunction so when you said you could not “pass” the heel-to-toe” test in your neurologist;s office, I was right there with you. Part of vestibular dysfunction is having no sense of where one is in space so dependence on visual cues becomes essential for neurologically, the wrong cues are being sent to the brain up and through the feet and legs.

So, with my physical eyes being key – so are my spiritual eyes to remain in good focus as you so wisely share here: to go to the deep places within where we know God is Sovereign. I, too, struggle with the feelings of fear for “falling” is one of man’s #1 human fears and the instinct is to protect oneself from doing so. You remind me that God is Sovereign within but I am also wanting to consistently remember that He is Sovereign without holding me steady when there is no sense of that coming from me at all.

Surrounded within and without with His Sovereignty sounds like a good place to stay!

I, too, was blessed when Fiona shared the MWS song some time ago and now I want to go and listen to it for this day that lies ahead of me. THAT and I LOVED how Eugene Peterson expressed the Ephesian verses in The Message. I always love going there to see how he expresses Scripture in this paraphrase and it always brings deeper understanding to me. I love that man!

Dear Lynn,
I love how you made a parallel between spiritual imbalance and physical imbalance. As a former vision teacher, I appreciate the value of clear vision…keep a solid focus on what’s around. Your analogy will remind me that it’s equally important to keep a solid focus on Him. Otherwise we risk stumbling spiritually. May I pass the spiritual sobriety test in my daily walk with the Lord.
“Scripture in this paraphrase and it always brings deeper understanding to me.”: That sentence reminded me that I should ‘digest’ the Word of God. Instead of gulping down my devotional each morning, I should take more time to savor each interpretation – to sample the rich meanings. Then I’ll fully “taste and see that the Lord is good!”
God bless,
Vicki

Vicki, I so appreciated being able to read your devotional and the comments. We can get quite a discussion going can’t we? And it’s such a blessing!

My heart goes out to you and Lynn with your balance issues. I can’t imagine how scary that must be.

Romans 8:28, 29 speak peace to me when fear grabs hold. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

I love what you typed to Maria. “Rest easy in His presence”. This is my prayer for each of us as I write this tonight.

Dear Beth,
God used your comments to settle my heart this morning. I will be speaking to young children during their chapel at a local Christian school. As with many of us, just getting out of bed represents a kind of victory. Then I fought off fears (worried I wouldn’t have the needed stamina or cognition). God nudged me to take a peek at the comments recently posted. Your words really blessed me: the verses in Romans and your repeating of my salutation: “Rest easy in His presence”. Thank you, dear friend for using that phrase for more than a closing on a comment, but for a prayer.
Serving our God of all comfort,
Vicki

Dear Lynn,
Thanks for refreshing my soul with these words: “reunion in heaven for many of us who have only been ‘online friends’ – and dear ones, at that. No lines in heaven, perfect bodies, and lots of rejoicing!” Amen and amen!
Fondly,
Vicki

Vicki, I’m so glad to hear my comments and prayer encouraged you. God knows what we need and when we need it most!

I forgot to click on one of the e-mail notification lines below, but decided to check just now, on getting home from a tiring, rather stressful day in the city. I’m glad I did, both for your response and Lynn’s.

Hi again, Beth. Yesterday God was faithful in answering your prayer for me to “rest easy in His presence.” Yes, “God knows what we need and when we need it most!” The timing of His encouragement is always perfect. I’m grateful to count you among His messengers!
Praying for you to recover from your tiring and stressful day.
Grace and peace,
Vicki

PS. I haven’t been getting emails to me of comments from devotionals & was relying on the scroll down screen on the right. (Yes, I keep pushing the correct bit at the bottom of the page!) If I don’t reply to anyone it’s because I haven’t seen your comment. Sorry in advance.